The cold wind whipped around me in the dead of night. The road that I stood on was barren. Flat land stretched for miles on either side of the asphalt. But without the glow of headlights or the stars above, it was pitch black. I couldn't see six feet in front of me. I ached with each step that I took. I had no idea where I was going. But I knew that I needed to be somewhere.

"Did you think that it would be that simple?" Desmond's voice spoke from behind me. I felt it. It wrapped around me, cold and harsh. So evil that I spun around but saw nothing. "You're not free."

Fingernails clamped on and dug into the skin on the back of my neck as I screamed out with fright. But no sound came with the terrified plea. I ran forward, my feet hitting the damp concrete while I fought the chill in the air. It was suffocating and sickening but I didn't slow. It was obvious that I was getting no where though. The black vast space never ended.

I could still feel hands on me. Cold hands that were wet and the stench of blood and rotting flesh surrounded me. I tried to scream for Aiden but nothing came out. No sound, not a peep. I fought at the weight that started to bring me down. Desmond's voice was still scratching at me, clawing at the back of my neck. "You can't run from me. You will never, ever be free of me!"

The concrete tore up my skin as I fell, the wind was harsh, whining with sorrowful song as hands pressed down on my neck and face. There was no one. No one was there. But the hands. They were suffocating me. I screamed again, no sound. My voice was gone and as I fought back, I started to drown. The taste and smell of blood filled up my nose and lungs as I spluttered and tried to spit it out. But I was losing. I could feel the life slipping from me as the cruel laugh echoed in my ears.

"No!"

I sat up, gasping as I looked around the small white cell. I tried to calm down when I realised that it was just a nightmare. But despite the fact that I knew it wasn't real, I still felt goosebumps swell when I heard that voice in the back of my head.

I shifted on the small bed and plastic mattress, leaning against the brick wall and pressing my knees to my chest. I stared at the solid door on the other side of the room and watched the little window, waiting for someone to come and get me out of here. Aiden promised me that I wouldn't be here for long. And I could tell that he hated watching me being detained. But it was procedure.

I rested my chin on my knee and thought about the events that had followed Desmond's death. I confessed as soon as the officers stormed the apartment. Aiden wouldn't let them touch me until he was able to explain what happened. He was so authoritative and in charge of the situation. There was no chance that I would have coped without him.

But still, as far as the police were aware, I had shot Desmond dead and had to be taken into custody while an investigation was carried out. Aiden kept promising me that it wouldn't be long. He kept promising that he would get me out of this cell.

As soon as I arrived, a small team of doctors were waiting in a med room to carry out a rape kit, assess my injuries and dozens of photos were taken of my entire body. I had been hoping that I would get to shower. I was still coated in blood. It was matted in my hair and dried on my clothes. It was what I could smell in my nightmares and it made me nauseous.

With the time to think about it, I realised that Aiden was right. I would never have coped if I had been the one to pull the trigger. Just the sight of Desmond with bullet holes in his neck, head and chest made me ill. I curled over when I could feel bile rising. But nothing came up. I just heaved and coughed up excess amounts of saliva. I had no idea when I'd last eaten. But I shivered with the chills once I was done.

I didn't mourn his death. I wasn't grieving or upset that he was gone. It was the images of his mangled face. It was so much more graphic than I could have imagined. Movies and television didn't accurately demonstrate just how horrific the act of murder was. I was glad that I would never have to fear him again. I just wished that I hadn't been left with those images.

The brick wall was cold behind me and I let my head tip back as I stared at the ceiling and considered the fact that it was over. It was. He'd left behind scars and pain that would be with me for a long time to come. But at least the chance to heal and move forward was real. Part of me had believed that I would be the one to die in that relationship. For a long time, I thought that would have been my only out.

The cell echoed with the sound of a bar being electronically unlocked and the door was slid open to reveal a male officer with a full arm of tattoos and a kind smile on his warm skin. "Mrs Moor—"

"Arian," I corrected and winced as I stood up. The pain was still there. Somehow, I didn't think that sleeping on a cell mattress helped either.

"Arian," he nodded and let his hand rest on his gun holster. "Come on Ma'm. I'm sure you'd like to get out of here."

I nodded and followed him out of the room. The rest of the corridor was made up of the same cells that I had been in. The officer was relaxed. His walk was slow and the squeak of his black boots on the linoleum was added torture to his pace. All I wanted to do was find Aiden, shower and— well— I wasn't sure. Sleep would have been preferable. But that meant seeing things that I didn't want to.

I wasn't even sure that I could stomach a meal at this point.

He opened the door which led to a small room with a row of metal cushioned seats and a coffee table which was spread with magazines and newspapers. But my stomach did an abrupt flip flop when I saw Aiden in a seat, his head in his hands as he stared at the floor. He was still in the clothes that he'd been wearing when I was brought in.

"How long have I been here?" I questioned the officer, still watching Aiden who stood up on high alert at the sound of my voice.

He looked relieved but I saw the flinch in his expression when he caught site of me. I must have looked as awful as I felt. He hurried to my side and pulled me into his arms with so much urgency but he was gentle. Always gentle.

"You've been here for about fourteen hours," he said as he gestured for us to follow him out of the room again. He checked his watch as he held the door open. "It's eleven at night."

"You've been here the entire time?" I questioned Aiden, staring up at him as we walked. He kept me tucked into his side and nodded, his thumb caressing my arm with a gentle touch.

"We tried to send him home," the officer chuckled. "He wasn't having it."

His actions alway managed to have me feeling that the pieces of my damaged and broken heart could be mending back together. He spoke so often about how he found me pure. A light. A soul so bright that it was capable of healing his. I felt anything but pure right at this moment.

After a brief conversation about the investigation with the officer, he let me go. Just like that.

Well, I was in a cell for sixteen hours. But I still expected more to come from it. But apparently it all checked out. The rape kit results came back. The photographs were assessed and the detectives were satisfied that I had acted in self defence. From the odd conversation that Desmond had with me about his work, I didn't think that it should be that simple. But I wasn't going to argue.

I let Aiden drive me home. He held my hand in the car and never stopped asking me if I was alright. I sort of felt numb. As if my subconscious had decided that I was too exhausted to continue thinking and feeling.

When we got up to the penthouse, the elevator doors opened. His apartment was quiet and dark, he took my hand and led me straight through to his bedroom. Not even the view from his window instilled a sense of appreciation. Which was something that disappointed me. Seeing the beauty in the ocean and skies was a treasure. I hoped that I could get the balance back. I didn't want to be numb. But I didn't want to feel all of the despair and anguish either.

"You can sleep soon," Aiden said as he pushed open his ensuite door and switched the shower on. His hand never let go of mine. "We both need to shower first though."

He was out of his clothes in a matter of seconds. Meanwhile, I was still attempting to move enough to get my arm out of the shirt sleeve. I was rigid and stiff. I ached from the mattress that I slept on and I was mentally and physically exhausted. Aiden realised because he helped me once he was undressed. He was gentle and careful as he removed each item of clothing.

"Do you want me to burn those?" He questioned as he held my hand and pulled me into the warm shower before he shut the glass door. "I could do that."

"That sounds good."

The water hit me with soft pelts that were rhythmic and soothing. The water managed to soften the joints in my arms and legs enough to relax. Aiden turned me around and ran his hands through my hair, pulling it behind my shoulders as he made sure that it was sopping wet. His fingers grazed my neck and I shivered at the soft contact.

He continued running his fingers through the strands before he reached for the shampoo on the caddie. His strong warm hands massaged it in, his finger tips creating an amazing sensation that I could feel releasing endorphins. My head rolled with the massage that he gave as he washed the blood out of my hair.

When he was done, he turned me around and I flinched as the water hit my face and stung the cuts and wounds. His expression fell as his gaze followed the scratches and finger bruises that were all over my arms and chest. It was so dark and distraught that it twisted me up. I couldn't stand to see him so hurt because of me. It was the reason that I was so glad that his hickey blended in to the finger print bruises that Desmond left behind.

If he knew that Desmond had done so much damage because he saw that, he would never forgive himself. Some truths were just better left unsaid.

There was also a high chance that he would have done that much damage regardless after he found out about the police. I still couldn't believe that they had so blatantly disregarded what I told them. I said that he would kill me. I expressed how bad it was. And not only did he turn me away, he called Desmond. It made me sick.

"I'm so sorry Arian," Aiden murmured as his hands cradled my head. Beads of water cascaded down his frame and the green in his gaze seemed to glow under the bright luminous of the bathroom. He watched me with defeat. His expression so broken. "I can't believe that I let this happen."

"You didn't! It wasn't—"

"I should ha—"

I shook my head to cut him off. "I went to the police to tell them about Desmond and his abuse. I was convinced that I didn't want him to die because of me," I scowled at the concept. "The police wouldn't help. And then he phoned Desmond and told him what happened. That's why he did what he did. I think that's why I snapped."

Aiden looked furious. His hold dropped and his fists balled at his side. "Do you know the officers name?"

"You— you can't—"

"Maybe he should know how you felt," Aiden seethed. "Maybe I'll beat him within an inch of his fûcking life."

I hadn't seen him this worked up before. I wasn't scared though. There was no discomfort. Just the need to let him know that I was here and alive and in time, I would be okay.

"Aiden, it's ok—"

"It's not," he wrapped his hand around the back of my neck and pulled me into his hold. His other hand rested on my back. "It's not okay. None of it. I protect people. That's what I do. I protect people that I don't even know. And you Arian, I care so fucking deeply for and I didn't protect you. Seeing you like this," he rested his forehead against mine as he let out a harsh breath. "It hurts so fucking bad."

"But I'm here," I whispered, ignoring how the water felt against the wounds as they beaded off Aiden's face and on to mine. "You did protect me. I could have been killed. Or I could have killed— him. And you saved me from both. And even though what he did to me was— awful. I thought that you wouldn't want anything to do with me. I was so wound up. I believed that I wasn't good enough anymore. But yo—"

"I can't lose you," he leaned back and shook his head. "You are just as beautiful and pure and sweet as you were before Ari. And I don't want to lose you. Believe me when I say that. Please?"

I nodded. Despite how defiled I felt. I nodded because his voice, his expression and his hold left little room to doubt what he said.

After we'd finished showering, we towelled off and Aiden let me know that there was a fresh set of pyjamas, underwear and socks on his bed that he'd had Zoerina purchase while we were at the station. It was a simple pair of blue cotton long sleeves and I couldn't believe how much better I felt with a wash and some soft new clothes on.

Aiden slipped into a pair of grey sweats and took my hand. "Some pain relief before you sleep?"

I nodded and followed him out of the bedroom. It was nice to watch his back muscles as we walked. He had the most incredible body. I was so occupied ogling him that I almost didn't see Zoerina appear in the living room in a pair of black sweats and a t-shirt. She stood in front of me and Aiden dropped my hand as she pulled me into a hug.

I was startled but eventually returned her embrace, giving her a timid smile when she leaned back. "Can we please talk for a minute?"

___